A/N: The story continues with a second chapter. In this part, no one wants to believe that Clark is dead, but as it turns out, neither can someone else who knows him completely. Please read and review. Thank you.

~o~o~

Chapter 2: One Beat Away

A few days ago, The Daily Planet, Lois' first day back:

Lois Lane, with her spine straight, and a determination to move forward, stepped off the elevator and headed to a desk. It's just a desk, she thought, but it wasn't. It was Clark's desk, but to her shock, it was occupied by someone she didn't recognize.

She walked over to him. "Who are you?"

He stood up and held out his hand. "I'm Shawn Parker; I'm new here but I know who you are; Lois Lane; isn't that right?"

"Yes, I'm Lois Lane," she replied and shook his hand. "Welcome to the Planet."

"Thank you," he said and noticed Mr. White walking towards them. "I'll see you around." He sat down and got to work.

"Lois?" Perry asked. "I see you've met our new stringer." He winced at her look.

Lois was furious, but kept it in. Life did go on. "Yes, we've met."

She sat down, but before Perry could apologize, Jenny walked over to her with a small box. "Ms. Lane, I have something for you."

"What is it Jenny?" Lois asked, distracted with booting up her computer.

"Lois, you should take this," Perry said.

"What is it?" She asked and turned around then she froze. "Is that?" She couldn't finish.

"Yes, it is," Jenny replied. "Your name was in his personnel file and his instructions were clear." She handed her the box.

"Come on, Jenny," Perry said. "Lois, when you're done, come and see me?"

"Yes, I will," she replied still staring at the box.

She took a shuttering breath, placed it on her desk and opened it. Inside were personal items that Clark had accumulated over the past several years, including his notes and research for stories. Also inside were photographs of men who were captured and branded by Batman in Gotham. More photographs were inside, including one of Martha, and one of them together, taken on vacation just last year. It was a selfie and it came out really well. Clark was very proud of that photograph. She was too.

Closing her eyes, she remembered their trip; they never wanted to leave. Holding the photo to her chest, it happened. Her eyes opened but she wasn't at the Planet; she was at their apartment.

"It's me; I'm back," Clark spoke to her then held out his arms.

"Clark?" She blinked and realized it wasn't a dream, but he was standing there in his costume, and he was alive. "Am I dreaming?" This can't be happening, she thought. But she didn't care and then she was in his arms, and they kissed passionately as his arms pulled her tight against him. The next thing she knew they were on the sofa and he was top of her kissing her like a starving man, but she was the one starving for him; his touch; his smell; all of him. His kisses rained down her throat to her chest, then he pulled her blouse aside and then.

Someone shook her shoulder. "Lois; Lois?" It was Perry. "Are you listening to me? I have a meeting in half an hour, but I wanted to talk to you."

Lois blinked and she was back at the Planet. "Of course," she said and grabbed her pad and followed him. Once inside his office, Lois was still distracted by her vision.

He watched her for a minute. "Lois, maybe it was too soon for you to come back, I mean," he hesitated.

"I'm fine, but to see Clark's desk occupied threw me, I admit. Who is this guy?"

Perry tried to explain. "We needed a replacement and quick. There's so much going on in the city with … Superman gone, and crime at its worst since before he arrived."

"I see," Lois said. She couldn't argue with him; crime was out of control. "You wanted to ask me something?"

"Yes, I need you to write a piece about Superman, and the title will be ... "Why the World Needed Superman."

"You're serious; aren't you?" It was statement.

"Yes, very serious. Are you up to it?" Perry asked.

Maybe this was exactly what she needed. "Yes, I'm up to it," she replied. "But the title is wrong, Perry."

"Oh, and what would you like to call it?"

"Why the World Needs Superman," she replied more hopeful than ever that he would be coming back to her.

Perry rubbed his chin thinking about it. "Alright, we'll go with that."

"Great, so how much time do I have?"

"There's no rush, but I will want to see something within the week?" He asked.

"A week is fine," she replied.

~o~o~

Back to present time, still in Metropolis:

Lois was at her wits end. After visiting her Father, he had been no help at all. In fact, the undercurrent of their conversation seemed to convey that he thought it was for the best that Superman was dead. Lois couldn't believe it. She wanted to hit him; she had never felt this urge to strike her Father but he deserved it. After thanking him for nothing, she left his office on the verge of tears. She thought he had changed his stance these past few years. He hadn't even noticed the ring on her finger. To think she actually considered telling him the truth; that was out of the question now.

After entering her car, her cellphone rang. It was Bruce; she put the call on speaker. "Any news?"

"Hello, Lois, where are you?" Bruce asked.

"I'm in Metropolis, but I have bad news. My Father can't help us."

"Well, Diana and I need to talk with you. It's about Lex's files."

Eyes on the road, she asked, "You don't sound right; what is it?" A horrible feeling came into her heart.

"We should talk in private. Come to the Sheraton Hotel suite 2011, here in Metropolis," Diana replied.

"I'm on my way," Lois said.

Fifteen minutes later, Lois entered Diana's suite with hope dwindling in her chest; she didn't know how to contain herself. She couldn't take any worse news. Heart pounding, she asked. "Please don't play with me; so is it true or not?"

"Sit down; you look a little frazzled," Bruce said and guided her to the sofa.

"I'm fine, just a little worried about all of this and what it could mean," she said and sat down.

Diana poured her some water. She took it gratefully. "Thank you." She took a sip, set it down and looked between them. They did look a little hopeful. "Alright, tell me."

"We checked every corner of Lex's confidential files and," Diana began.

"Wait a minute, what files are you talking about?" Lois asked confused.

Diana and Bruce glanced at each other.

"Alright, you two are hiding something. You know I'm hanging on a thread with my trust for you Bruce, and Diana, I don't know you that well." Losing patience; she crossed her arms.

"Now Lois, calm down," Bruce said and winced at her expression.

She stood up unwilling to stay calm. "Don't tell me to calm down. You know what I've been through these past few weeks. I watched the love of my life die in front of me and … and you two are hiding the truth. Do you realize how that makes me feel?"

"I'm sorry, Lois, please sit down," Bruce said and helped her to sit down.

She sat down and took several deep breaths to calm down. "I'm sorry, but my Father is the worst person to ever live, and I had such hopes he would help us." She paused to gather her composure. "I also just found out that Senator Swanwick is away on some top secret mission, so I'm out of options." She raised her tear-filled eyes to their faces. "You two are my only hope."

Diana felt horrible. She sat down and put her arm around her shoulder. "Just tell her, Bruce."

Bruce stood up straighter and stuck his hands in his pockets. "There was a gala at Lex's residence several weeks ago. Clark was also there, Lex introduced us, but he must have left because I didn't see him for a while. Anyway, I went there as myself and managed to steal his private files, but Diana took them, sorry borrowed them, and that's when we found out about Clark and how he came here."

She ignored the stealing part; that wasn't important. "You know about Clark?"

"Yes, we do. Apparently, Lex either copied Kryptonian files or recorded information about them when he accessed the scout ship, but it's all there in the files we stole."

"And, what did you find out? Is it true; is he alive?" The hopefulness in her voice vibrated pain but also purpose.

"Lois, I'm sorry, Diana and I couldn't find anything specific about that. But we have hope that there's a real possibility that he is alive and ... it's because of you," Bruce finally replied.

Lois was a bit stunned. "Because of me?" She asked confused at first then she thought about it. "You mean my dreams and what they could mean?"

"Yes, because of your dreams. Have you had any more?" Diana asked.

She stood up and walked. "No, no more dreams, but I did have a vision of him the other day. I thought it was just me, but I've never had a vision like that before." She paused. "I was at the Planet and Clark's personal items were returned to me and there was a photograph of us together. I picked it up and held it to my chest."

"Go on; what happened next?" That was Bruce.

"Well, I blinked and I wasn't at the Planet anymore, but at our apartment and ... Clark was there, in his costume and he spoke to me. He said, 'It's me; I'm back.'" Her eyes watered thinking about it.

"That's incredible," Diana said astounded at what she just said.

"I can't believe this," Bruce said also stunned. "What happened next?"

"I couldn't believe it. I thought I was dreaming, but he held out his arms and I ran to him and kissed him and he kissed me back." She wiped at her eyes.

Bruce handed her a tissue. "Lois, this is all we need. We have to do something right away."

Diana was thoughtful. "I see what you're saying. Do you think he's suspended between life and death?"

Lois began to hope again. "Are you talking about suspended animation or something similar to that?" She then remembered something that happened to her recently.

"Yes, you could call it that," he replied.

"I hate to say this, but," Diana hesitated.

"What is it?" Lois asked.

"His mind may not be the same, with no blood flow to his brain; it may cause serious damage," she began and glanced at Lois.

"You're right, he may not be the same person when he wakes up." Lois closed her eyes and prayed that wouldn't be the case then she had a thought. "He needs the sun. The sun is his only way to regenerate his powers and to heal his mind. He needs the sun like right now."

"You know what that means; don't you? Martha will have to agree to it," Bruce asked.

Lois frowned and thought about that. "You're right," she said and glanced at her ring. "I'll talk to her." She pulled out her cellphone and called Martha. "Martha, it's me, how are you?"

"Lois, I'm alright. How are you honey?" Martha asked, happy to hear from her.

"I'm doing alright, but I have a question to ask and it's going to sound really strange, but we don't have much time."

"What is it; this sounds really important," Martha asked.

"Clark may be alive," Lois told her bluntly.

"What did you just say?" Martha asked stunned.

"My friends and I have been doing a bit of research about Krypton and Clark's physiology. It's highly possible that he may be suspended from the pain but only for a short amount of time. We need to bring him out into the sunlight for him to wake up and to heal."

Martha shook her head. "I can't believe what you're saying. You want me to exhume my Son's body? Is that what you're asking me?"

Lois had the call on speaker. She glanced at her friends. "Yes, and as I said, we don't have time to debate this or to discuss it; it has to be done right away."

Silence on the other end of the line.

"Martha, please you have to listen to me. Clark isn't human like us. He's Kryptonian. Sometimes we forget that, but it's true. He may be alive waiting for us to help him. Please, Martha." Lois was on the verge of tears.

Martha took a deep breath. "Alright, yes, you have my consent."

"Thank you; we'll see you soon."

Bruce pulled out his cellphone and called his pilot. "Get the jet ready; I'll be there in twenty minutes." He turned to his friends. "Let's go."

~o~o~

On Bruce's jet and once they reached cruising altitude, the sound of the jet engines became to relax her and Lois began to drift off to sleep. Exhausted emotionally and physically, she closed her eyes and decided to get some rest. The flight would last about an hour, but she actually believed that Clark was alive and waiting for her. Minutes later, she fell asleep.

Another dream came to her but this one was not like the others or her vision. Her earlier dreams were upbeat and hopeful. But in this one, he didn't speak or touch her. In this dream, Clark was alone, all alone and he was searching for something or someone. He couldn't see her but she could see him. She reached for him, but he just didn't see her. She called his name numerous times, but he was moving away from her until she couldn't see him anymore. "Clark?" She murmured then her eyes watered.

Someone shook her shoulder. Her eyes popped open then she looked around. Her cheeks were wet; she wiped away her tears and then realized she was still on the jet.

Diana watched her come to her senses. "We're about to land in Smallville."

"Oh, of course," she said and touched her forehead.

"Are you Okay?" Diana asked then she thought about it. "Was it another dream?"

"No, it wasn't," she lied, not willing to talk about it. It was a nightmare, she thought, not looking at her.

She sat down beside her. "Do you want to tell me about it?"

Lois glanced at her underneath her lashes. "No, not this time," she replied and turned and looked out the window.

Diana got the point. "Alright, buckle up."

"Diana wait," Lois said and grabbed her arm. "Bruce, you should hear this too."

He came over to sit across from them. "What is it?"

"I remembered something else. After leaving Smallville and I returned to our apartment, I walked inside and this awful pain hit me in my chest. At first, I thought it was just me upset about coming home and Clark not being there, but honestly, I thought I may be having a heart attack."

"Oh my goodness, then what happened?" Bruce asked.

"I managed to sit down and the pain stopped as quickly as it had come." She looked between them.

Bruce had a thought. "Maybe it was Clark telling you that his heart began to beat just once maybe?"

Lois put her hand over her heart. "Really?" She couldn't hold it in anymore then she thought of her nightmare. "Can we fly any faster, please?" Tears began to fall.

"Yes, of course we can. Buckle up you two." Then he radioed the pilot.

They fastened their belts. Lois thought of her nightmare. It gave her chills. What did it mean? Still hopeful that they would arrive in time, she whispered, "It won't be long now, Clark. I'm coming; I'm coming."

~o~o~

Somewhere in the afterlife:

Time had no meaning as Clark Kent drifted between the living and the dead, not knowing where he belonged or what to believe, but inside he knew that he wanted to stay with Lois but the light was too compelling to ignore.

The mist and the light beckoned to him but a part of his spirit refused to accept it. I can't be dead but I am. In his costume, he moved toward the light but then his feet felt stuck and he couldn't move. He looked around not seeing anything, but then the mist parted and he saw him.

"Dad, is that you?" Clark's eyes filled with tears. "Have you come to show me the way?"

Stunned to see his Son standing before him, Jonathan was unable to speak for a minute. "No, that's not why I'm here. It's not your time yet, Son."

Clark didn't believe that; he was dead. Suddenly, his feet began to move again. "I have to go; it's pulling me; compelling me to enter."

Jonathan reached for him. "No, Clark, no, not into the light!"

Clark looked back from whence he had come. "I can hear her. She cries for me and I tried to help her, but I can't do that anymore; give her hope. It's not right, but I just wanted to feel her spirit inside me, just for a few moments."

"Clark, don't you see? I felt the same way about my Martha. It's not wrong; it's right that you want to see her, feel her, just for a little while."

His eyes turned toward the light. "No, Dad; I can't deny death." His voice was devoid of any emotion.

Now desperate to keep him among the living, Jonathan lunged for him and grabbed his arm. "Listen to me; do you recognize these?" He held up his glasses that came out of nowhere. "Clark Kent thinks like a human … and we can die." Pulling him away from the light, he tried to make him understand. "Son, I'm convinced that the only reason you're here is because we raised you with the concept of mortality. You've been conditioned to accept this fate, and maybe it doesn't have to be that way at all." They were moving away from the light back to the living. "For once, I'm begging you not to think like a human." His strength was fading fast. "I can't go any further Son."

"Just let me go," Clark said about to accept his fate, but he too was getting weaker.

"No, we've come too far for that now, Son. We're doing this together," Jonathan said and continued to pull him back toward the living. Just a little further, then the portal appeared to take his Son home and then he let go of his Son.

Clark was unaware as he drifted back to where he belonged; back to the living.

~o~o~

Meanwhile, at the Kent farm:

After hanging up the phone, Martha walked out of the house and looked out over the high grass. Could it really be true? My Son is alive?

Minutes later, at the grave site, Clark's eyes opened slowly. Darkness greeted him, but he knew where he was where he needed to be. He then punched his way out of the coffin and the dirt that covered it and he was free. The sun was high in the sky; it felt good and he did fill a little stronger. He stood up on shaky legs and realized he wasn't strong enough to fly, to do anything but walk, and so he did.

Martha meanwhile, headed to the grave site, but to her shock the grave was open and so was the coffin, but Clark was nowhere to be seen. She gasped and pulled out her cellphone.

Lois glanced at the caller ID and put the call on speaker. "Martha, what is it?" Lois asked getting a bad feeling inside her chest.

"Lois, I'm here at the grave site, but Clark is gone. I know he's alive because the ground is open as if he clawed his way out and the coffin is smashed and it's in pieces."

Lois gasped and turned to her friends. She put her hand over her mouth. "He's alive; he's alive."

"Now what do we do?" Diana asked. "Do we go back to Metropolis?"

"No, we keep going. He couldn't have gotten far. I don't think he's strong enough to fly yet," Lois thoughtfully replied.

"You're probably right," Diana said.

"Martha, we're on our way. Yes, we'll see you soon." She hung up.

Ten minutes later, they landed in Smallville and took a cab over to the house. Martha was still at the grave site, so they headed over there.

Lois gasped when she saw it, becoming emotional, tears blinded her. She didn't know what to think; she was speechless. Martha came over to her and gave her a tight hug.

Lois finally found her voice. "He's truly alive but where is he?" She asked stunned to think that he may be out there lost, afraid and all alone.

TBC!

~o~o~

Song Inspiration: To Where You Are, Josh Groban.

A/N: I'm sorry to end it there. Lois' nightmare seems to be coming true. The scene with Jonathan may be the only solution to bring Clark back. Alright, more in the week. I promise to be good and I think you'll love it. Thank you for reading. Reviews/kudos/favorites are love!